Submarine (EP)

Submarine is the debut solo EP by English musician and Arctic Monkeys lead vocalist Alex Turner, released on 14 March 2011 by Domino Recording Company.

It was produced in London by frequent collaborator James Ford, alongside guest musician Bill Ryder-Jones, and string arranger Owen Pallett.

The EP consists of six original songs that act as the soundtrack of Richard Ayoade's debut feature film, Submarine (2010), based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne.

Submarine is a departure from Turner's previous guitar-heavy work, with the Arctic Monkeys, and more in line with the baroque-oriented sound found in The Age of the Understatement (2008).

Some of the versions that were recorded included John Cale's Fear is a Man's Best Friend and Big White Cloud, Nico's I'm Not Sayin', and Irving Berlin's How Deep is the Ocean?

[5] He already had some done– including 'It's Hard to Get Around the Wind' and 'Hiding Tonight'– that he felt could not be released with Arctic Monkeys or his side project The Last Shadow Puppets, due to him "picking an acoustic guitar" not fitting the bands' current styles.

[3] In April 2010, Turner recorded the EP at One Inch studios in London with frequent collaborator James Ford serving as producer.

[8] At the time, the edit of the film was more advanced, "Richard came down, and we played with some of the structures of the songs to make them fit a bit better, in terms of the length being right" Turner recalled.

"[12] The EP has been compared to the works of Richard Hawley,[11][10][9] Bob Dylan,[11][13] Simon and Garfunkel,[9] John Lennon,[10] Roy Orbison,[9] Scott Walker,[9] and Cat Stevens's soundtrack for Harold and Maude.

The intro is followed by "Hiding Tonight," which has a "Richard Hawley-esque tone,"[15] with a "totally unobtrusive" instrumentation,[9] featuring a "quiet guitar,"[15] and "dry electric notes" that "echo around the periphery upon a invitingly fuzzy organ drone.

"[10] Described as "woozily romantic" with "a mundane bent that avoids sentimentality," and the "finest and most direct song," despite, "the oddity of a change in signature for the gorgeous chorus,"[9] as well as, "the most reproachful.

[19] Paul Thompson of Pitchfork felt "Turner's keen wit and eye for detail" had created a "tender portrayal" of adolescent uncertainty.

[15] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic thought Turner was straddling "a fine line of providing hushed mood music for a film, and delving into someplace deeper," and that the casual nature of the songs kept them, "from truly resonating.

[26] Retrospectively, Submarine its considered a stepping stone in Turner's continued musical experimentation, inspiring the general sound of Turner's band Arctic Monkeys', fourth album Suck It and See, leading to the inclusion on the album of a re-recording of "Piledriver Waltz,"[3][4][17] and paving the way for Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, (2018)[27][28] and The Car (2022).

Several music critics cited Richard Hawley as having influenced the EP's style.